Massachusetts woman sentenced to probation on drug distribution charges after 16 kilos of fentanyl seized

BOSTON – A Massachusetts woman was sentenced to probation in federal court in Boston for conspiring to distribute controlled substances and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.

According to the Massachusetts Department of Justice, 57-year-old Ceferina Dominguez of Lawrence was sentenced by District Court Judge Angel Kelley to four years’ probation. The government recommended a sentence of 51 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. In June 2024, Dominguez pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. 

Dominguez was charged in connection with the April 2021 seizure of 9.6 kilograms of fentanyl from her Lawrence residence and an additional 6.4 kilograms of fentanyl from a hidden compartment in a car registered to her. In 2018, fentanyl, fentanyl analogue, fentanyl precursors and drug proceeds were seized from a townhouse rented by Dominguez.

            Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Stephen Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine Ferguson, Deputy Chief of the Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit prosecuted the case.

            This operation is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations.